Stress And Shattered Mirrors
by LoverlyBabyZ.x
Summary: [[Oneshot]][[Troyella]]Gabriella finally cracks. Who's there to pick up the pieces? Her man of course!


**Hey, I'm back again! You lucky peeps. Lol. Okay, so here is my new story, called Stress And Shattered Mirrors, which was actually based on true events, including the bit about the mirrors. It happened to a mate of mine a couple of weeks ago. So, Aimee, this is for you! This is a oneshot at the moment, but if my brain can handle it, I might make it into a twoshot, the second chapter being about Gabriella going to apologise to the gang for her treatment of them. But I dunno, it could all go to pot.**

**Disclaimer: Again, not mine. I wish it was, but then again...who doesn't?**

**As always, if you like the story then please review, I would love to see what you think of my writing, so any constructive criticism is welcomed, I won't be offendedby what you have to say. And I'm sorry if this story is remotley like anyone else's. I swear this all came out of my own head. And also Jamie's but shhhh!**

She was lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling, just singing to herself. So many thoughts rushed around in her head, and she closed her eyes in frustration and tiredness. Maybe he was right, maybe she had been working too hard. It was a week before her finals started and she'd been using every opportunity she had to study. She'd blown off countless invitations to parties and sleepovers just so she could lock herself in her room and revise facts. Heck, she'd even blown off her own boyfriend on one occasion!

Everyone was suffering for it. She'd been distant at school, shut away in her own little world. And at home it was even worse. She didn't eat sometimes; her mother had even begged her once to get her to eat something but that had ended before it had even started, because she refused to anyway. The lack of sleep was also affecting her. She'd fallen asleep in class a few times and in the cafeteria. One minute someone would be talking to her and the next she'd be asleep. But the worse thing was that she wouldn't listen to anyone. Not even her best friends. She'd insist that she was fine when they told her she looked ill, and she'd always come up with excuses to leave whenever they brought up the subject of her studying.

A few tears escaped her eyes and fell down her cheeks as the pressure mounted on her finally hit. She sat up, pulling her knees to her chest and pressed her face into them, the tears coming thick and fast. She heard the click of the door as it opened and she lifted her head to look at her mother, standing with a look of shock on her face. Her mother left quickly, shutting the door again and she immediatley buried her face, gut-wrenching sobs emitting from her body. After 10 minutes of crying and screaming into her pillows, the tears showed no sign of stopping. Above the noise, she was sure she could hear voices talking downstairs, but she passed it off as the television and went to look at her appearance in the mirror. She shocked herself. Her skin was pale, she had bags under her eyes and her hair was a mess. To put it bluntly, she looked exactly how she felt. Awful.

Suddenly extremely angry with herself, she threw the book she had been studying from earlier at the floor-length mirror. As soon as it made contact, the mirror smashed into small pieces. Carefully, she moved some of the pieces so that she had space to sit down, once again hugging her knees to her chest, sobbing roughly and rocking backwards and forwards a little. She heard footsteps running up the stairs and before she had time to reach to lock the door, her mother and a boy she knew all too well burst into the room. Her mother's hand flew to her mouth in shock and the boy just shook his head sadly before making his way over to her. As soon as he was in reach, the hysterical girl balled up the front of his shirt into her fists and cried into his chest. Her mother left, sensing that to two teenagers wanted to be left alone for a while.

"Shhh, Gabriella…" the boy soothed, moving his hand to the back of her head.

Very aware of the fact that they were sitting in an area that was filled with shattered glass, the boy began to move away slowly, his aim being to lift her up and carry her over to the bed, but as soon as she felt the slightest amount of pressure leaving her body she screamed and brought him back towards her.

"No! No…don't le…don't leave me…Please, Troy…just…" She couldn't continue anymore, her hoarse voice just a whisper as her tears cascaded down her cheeks like waterfalls. Troy's heart nearly broke in two at the desperation in her voice. Clinging to her, he let a few tears of his own fall into her tangled hair, slowing rubbing her back. Near to the edge of losing faith completely, he began to sing softly, his gentle voice reaching out to her. It was their song.

"_We're soaring; flying…there's not a star in heaven that we can't reach.…"_

Immediately her eyes snapped to his and she whispered back.

"_If we're trying….so we're breaking free..."_

Her sobs became small sniffles and she wiped her stained cheeks with the backs of her hands before burying her face deep into the crook of his shoulder. Maneuvering her slightly so that he could fit his arm under her knees, Troy lifted her into his arms and made his over to her king sized double bed, making sure not to tread on any of the glass. He placed her on the edge of the mattress and knelt down in front of her, taking her small, cold hands in his large, warm ones, making him gasp at the sudden change in temperature. He proceeded to run his thumbs gently over the backs of her palms, coaxing her into looking at him.

"Gabriella…" He began, unsure of where to start. "Why are you doing this to yourself? You and I both know that you're going to ace those finals, so why are you treating your body like this? It's not healthy."

Gabriella averted her eyes from his and stared at their joined hands, which were now resting on her knees.

"I know it's not healthy, it's just…it's….Oh, I don't know what it is. For like, half of my life, people have always been telling me I'm useless, and I guess I just wanted to prove them wrong, I suppose."

Troy leant in and pressed a gentle kiss against her forehead, then leant his against hers.

"Gabi. No-one thinks you're useless. And why should they? You're intelligent, pretty, funny….the list is endless! I mean, come on, do you really think I'd date you if you weren't?"

Gabriella slapped his chest as if to scold him, but it didn't really work seeing as she burst into laughter two seconds later, falling back onto the bed, giggling madly. Troy grinned happily.

"See! There's my amazing girl!" He said happily, climbing onto the bed also and lying down next to her. The expression on her face quickly turned grave though.

"The gang must think I hate them." She whispered, tears beginning to prick at her eyes again.

Troy saw this and hastened to calm her.

"No, no they don't. They're just a little confused."

Gabriella sighed softly, and laced her fingers with Troy's again.

"I need to go and speak to them, don't I?"

"I think it would help," Troy said kindly. "But we'll go tomorrow. Right now, I think you need something to eat and some rest."

Gabriella nodded in agreement and the two headed downstairs to where Ms. Montez was cooking in the kitchen.

TWO bowlfuls of chicken soup and a glass of ginger ale later, Gabriella lay on her bed reading, Troy's head resting in her lap. Every so often she would push his hair back from his forehead, before letting it flop back down into his eyes. Marking her place and putting her book down she nudged the side of Troy's head, causing him to awaken from the light snooze he had previously been in.

"Hey!" He said indignantly. "What was that for? I was enjoying that dream."

Gabriella giggled slightly.

"I'm sure you were," She said. "But I would also like to join you in dreamland but I can't seeing as you're lying on my legs!"

Troy looked sheepish for a moment before getting up of the bed. Gabriella swung her legs over the side of her mattress and went over to her drawer, removing a tank top and a pair of Troy's old basketball shorts. Walking to the bathroom, she looked back over her shoulder to see Troy sitting on the edge of the bed, and grinned at him. _Got to leave 'em hanging…_ she thought, before going into the bathroom and locking the door, just to be safe.

RUNNING back into the room 10 minutes later, now clad in tank top and said shorts, Gabriella bounced on the bed slightly before crawling under the covers, where Troy was already laying. Troy brought his face close and rubbed the bridge of his nose against hers, before catching her lips in a soft kiss. Her hand came to rest against the curve of his jaw, softly stroking the skin there. The kiss began to deepen slightly as Gabriella's tongue ran along Troy's lower lip, asking for permission that she knew wouldn't be denied. She tugged on the hem of his shirt and pulled it up over his head, only breaking the kiss to slip it off and to throw it into the corner of the room. Five minutes later however, the kiss was showing no sign of stopping, and it was getting a little too heated. Troy's hands were running expertly over Gabriella's petite frame, drawing moans out of her nearly every time his hands ventured somewhere different. Suddenly, she felt his palm graze against her thigh and pulled back, burying her face in his chest.

"Sorry. That was just getting a bit too intense." She spoke, her voice muffled from its current position.

"It's okay, baby. My fault entirely." Troy whispered back.

He lay on his back, taking Gabriella with him and she leant her head against his chest, breathing in his scent and closing her eyes. Troy followed suite, and together the two teens fell into a deep sleep, both thinking of one thing. Each other.

**Love You Lots! xxx**


End file.
